Papercraft models are print-outs that you can download, print, cut, and put together to make colorful models that look very professional and are fun to play with.

They make for a perfect rainy day or “we’re bored! What can we do!?” kind of day.

There a lots of sites that have the print-outs, and I’ve featured a few below. Hope you enjoy them!

Web-Bots

Norton has a few papercraft web-bots available for free as part of a campaign to raise awareness about different threats on the internet. Norton Web-Bots Paper Craft

Right now they have two templates that you can print out, cut and put together for an “Identity Theft Bot” and an “Extortion Bot.”

Sci-Fi Papercraft

Stones Edges has some free-sample “stock” gaming paper models of some wooden crates, tombs, and a few different sci-fi type doors. They also have a bunch of other models that you can purchase to add atmosphere to a board or d&d type game.

If you have fun with these, you might also want to check out Papercraft World – They have links and instructions for 100s of different papercraft models.

Have fun!

via boingboing

Playing games is fun and all, but it’s easy to forget how enjoyable simple outdoor things like Picking Strawberries can be.

Throw all the boring work that has to get done aside and go run around outside with your kids – it’ll mean the world to them.

Old Soldier

Old Soldier is a game for young children, and though it seems very simple, yet there is a good deal of fun in it.

One of the children pretends to be an old soldier, and goes round begging of each of the other players in turn, saying that he is “poor, and old, and hungry.” and asking what they will do for him or give him. In answering the Old Soldier no one must say the words: “Yes,” “No,” “Black,” or “White,” and he must he answered at once without hesitation.

Anyone who does not reply at once, or who uses any of the forbidden words, must pay a forfeit.

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Image © pingnews.com @ Flickr, ShareAlike

I’d like to apologize in advance for the grief that you may experience from your children begging you to play this game with them to no end or from them playing it themselves for hours and hours.

The cup game is a rhythm game played with plastic cups.

To play, the group plays a special beat with their hands and their cup. At the end of the “song” their cup is passed to the person to their right and it all starts over again slightly faster. Everyone continues to play trying to go faster and faster together

But, the easiest way to learn the game is by watching -

Here is the basic pattern for the beats laid out:

clap, clap
tap, tap, tap
clap,
grab, move
pause
clap
grab
hit (hand with cup)
hit (table with cup)
switch (cup from right to left hand)
slap (table with right hand)
overturn (cup with left hand, passing to person on your right)


Image © Kevin Lawver @ Flickr, Share Alike

Fun Play Dates also has some interesting ideas for Paper Craft on their site, Jungle Gym Kids Paper Craft on their site, check it out.

Severed Flowers

Cut from colored cloth or paper a number of petals for forming wild roses, using pink material; Marguerite daisies of white material and pansies of purple. Five petals for each rose, five for each pansy and ten for each daisy.

Have the children site around a table. Provide each one with a sheet of plain paper, three pins having the heads covered with yellow tissue paper and mixed petals enough to make one of each kind of flower.

At a signal the children begin to make the flowers by sticking the pin through the point of the petals and pinning each flower to the sheet of paper. A prize may be given to the child finishing the flowers first of the child making the best looking flowers.

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Image © Smiles… @ Flickr, Attribution

Attach one end of a number of strings (one for each guest) to the chandelier. Fasten to the other end of each string a small prize wrapped up in tissue paper. Have strings of various lengths and twine them around the table legs, chairs, etc., some may be “spun” around furnitures, etc., in adjoining rooms, trying to hide the prizes as much as possible.

At a signal each child takes or is given a string from the chandelier and proceeds to wind it around an empty spool or piece of pasteboard, until a prize is reached. The strings must not be broken. An extra prize may be awarded to the child who first winds up a string neatly.

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Image © Môsieur J. @ Flickr, ShareAlike

Bubbles abound!

Play Library gives us the Amazing Bubble Machine and the geniuses at Cranium show off their Wonderwish Wand.

Anyone else have any fun Bubble links?

What do you do with the bubbles once you have them?

Soap Bubble Battle

Two children act as captains, one of the company A, the other of company B and each in turn choose a soldier until the children are evenly divided into two companies.

Stretch a rope or cord at a medium height across the middle of the room, with company A on one side and company B on the other side.

Each company is provided with a basin of soap suds (a little glycerin added to the water will make the bubbles last longer) and each soldier with a clay pipe.

Two soldiers, one from company A and one from company B stand at arms length from the rope and each blows a bubble from his pipe towards the “enemy” and over the rope if he can. If a soldier blows a bubble over the rope without it bursting he company wins a point. If he fails to do so, his company loses a point.

These soldiers step back and two more (one from each company) advance and blow a bubble and so on until all have had a turn. Som one keeps the score and the company having the most points are the “victors” and to them belong the “spoils” which consists of a tiny paper drum filled with candy, a small silk flag or any appropriate prize.

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Image © fotologic @ Flickr, Attribution

Shapes! Kids Craft Weekly explores some fun ways to learn about and play with shapes. They also have a great monkey logo if you’re into that.

Or maybe you’re less into monkey business and more into the blinding efficiencies of manufacturing (see what I did there?) Rookie Moms has a write up about doing a factory tour as mini-trip.

And of course, you always have the option of playing a classic kids game -

Rule of Contrary

This is a simple game for little children. It is played either with a pocket-handkerchief, or, if more than four want to play, with a table cloth or small sheet.

Each person takes hold of the cloth; the leader of the game holds it with the left hand, while with the right he makes pretense of writing on the cloth, while he says: “He we go round by the rule of contrary. When I say ‘Hold fast,’ let go; and when I say ‘Let go,’ hold fast.”

The leader then calls out one or other of the commands, and the rest must do the opposite of what he says. Anyone who fails must pay a forfeit.

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Image © chechebom @ Flickr, Attribution

If you hadn’t heard, it’s TV Turn off week. And there are plenty of fun songs and pseudo-activities to keep everyone busy without it.

And of course, there’s also old fashion kids party games -

Puss in the Corner

This game is really for five players only, but, by a little arrangement, six or seven children can take part in the fun.

Four players take their places in the different corners of the room, and the fifth who is Puss stands in the middle. If a greater number of children wish to play, other parts of the room must be named “corners,” so that there is a corner for everyone.

The fun consists in the players trying to change places without allowing puss to get a corner. When they leave their corners, the player in the centre tries to get into one of them.

When the centre player succeeds in getting into a corner, the one who has been displaced has to take his place in the middle of the room.

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Image © macieklew @ Flickr, ShareAlike

Do you have a Toy library at your house? Aptly named Parent Hacks has tons of fun tips to help keep parents sane, which seems like a pretty good goal. And now, on to the classic game of the day -

Oats and Beans and Barley

All the children form a ring with the exception of one player, who stands in the centre. The children then dance round this one, singing the first three lines of the verses given below. At the forth line they stop dancing and act the words that are sung. They pretend to scatter seed then stand at ease, stamp their feet, clap their hands, and at the words: “Turn him round,” each child turns round.

They then again clap hands and dance round, and when the words: “Open the ring and send one in,” are sung, the center child chooses a partner, who steps into the ring, and the two stand together while the other children sing the remaining verse, after which the child who was first in the centre joins the ring and the game is continues as before.

Oats and beans and barley O!
Do you or I or anyone know
How oats and beans and barley grow?

First the farmer sows his seed,
Then he stands and takes his ease,
Stamps his foot and claps his hands,
And turns him round to view the land.

Oats and beans and barley O!
Waiting for a partner, Waiting for a partner,
Open the ring and send one in.
Oats and beans and barley O!

So now you're married you must obey,
You must be true to all you say,
You must be kind, you must be good,
And help your wife to chop the wood.
Oats and beans and barley O!"

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Image © shizhao @ Flickr, Attribution

Honestly, this story was scary to me, I can’t imagine young children playing it then and not having nightmares everyday for the rest of their lives. It’s a love story where the young girl dies from blight and/or cruel parents. Do we still have blight?

Miss Jennia Jones

The story of this is originally a love story. The young lady dies from a blighted affection and the prohibition of cruel parents.
A mother, seated, Miss Jones stands behind her chair, or reclines on her lap as if lying sick. A dancer advances from the ring.

I've come to see Miss Jennia Jones,
Miss Jennia Jones, Miss Jennia Jones -
I've come to see Miss Jennia Jones,
And how is she to-day?

She's up stairs washing,
Washing, washing -
She's up stairs washing,
You cannot see her to-day.

The questions are repeated to the same air for every day of the week and Miss Jones is backing, ironing, or scrubbing. She is then sick or worse and finally is dead.

What shall we dress her in,
Dress her in, dress her in;
What shall we dress her in -
Shall it be blue?

Blue is for sailors,
So that will never do.

What shall we dress her in,
Shall it be red?
Red is for firemen
So that will never do.

Pink is for babies
So that will never do

Green is forsaken
So that will never do

Black is for mourners
So that will never do

White is for dead people
So that will just do.

What shall we bury her?
Under the apple tree.

Miss Jennie Jones is “laid out” upon the floor and something white thrown over her.
After the burial is completed the children for a ring and sing:

I dreamed I saw a ghost last night,
Ghost last night, ghost last night -
I dreamed I saw a ghost last night,
Under the apple tree!

The ghost suddenly arises. The ring breaks up, the children fly with shrieks, and the one caught by the ghost is to take the part of Miss Jennia Jones in the next game.

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Image © brooklyn @ Flickr, ShareAlike